The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a container especially suited for containing and dispensing fluids.
There are a great variety of containers for containing and dispensing substances, especially fluids. One such variety, exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,410,459 and 3,443,710, has an opening in the upper portion of the container providing handles in the upper portion of the main body and thus eliminating the need for external handles appendaged to the main body. However, the design of such containers results in a lack of control over the fluid being dispensed from the container. Morever, especially in the case of large containers, these prior art containers require a great degree of strength to hold the container with one hand in a position to facilitate dispensing of the liquid therefrom. This further hinders the ability of a user to carefully control the dispensation of fluid.
Various design patents have been granted on container designs, but these containers are marked by the same drawbacks present in the above-mentioned utility patents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 195,599, 216,248, 224,200 and 265,291.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,808 discloses a baby bottle having an opening in the main body of the bottle at about the center of gravity of the bottle to facilitate a baby's holding on the bottle. Liquid is dispensed from a nipple on the bottle and no consideration is given to a construction which would facilitate handling and control of flow from the bottle through the opening of the bottle absent a nipple.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,349 discloses a container for storing and dispensing two different liquids. The interior of the container is compartmented and the compartments are separated further by an opening in the lower portion of the main body of the container. The container is grasped around the upper neck thereof. Control of liquid flow out of the container requires two hands and the conventional neck of the container results in a turbulent, uncontrollable flow.
Finally, various additional proposals have been made relating to containers for holding two different liquids therein. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 813,894, 3,076,573, 3,171,559 and 3,197,071 and British Pat. No. 940,326. However, all such proposed containers are characterized by awkward handling and lack of fine control of the liquid dispensed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a container for storing one or a plurality of substances, especially fluid substances, which is easy to handle and which provides fine, sensitive control over the substance being dispensed therefrom.